It seems like ancient history now, but we incorporated as the Imagination Corporation in 1991 so we could tackle much larger and more complex projects. In the next years, it was a time of tremendous learning as we rapidly gathered better tools and methods and trained an expanding crew. An unbelievable opportunity presented itself in 1995 to completely re-theme the five-acre indoor theme park, Galaxyland (formerly Fantasyland) at West Edmonton Mall in Alberta. Our mandate was challenging and started with a single small project - adding a kids’ play area in the center of the five-acre indoor amusement park. The owners loved this first phase, and we were awarded the ‘contract’ to redo the entire project, one attraction at a time.
We relocated to Edmonton with a small but eager crew. There was never a master plan to guide us. The operations manager would talk with me about a particular area, and I’d then go back to my temporary studio to work up some concept drawings, which we would present to the owners and settle on a contract. Then we would begin work. We started early each day (6:00 am) and worked four hours behind locked gates and then another four hours while the park was open. We were considered to be part of the show. Each time we neared completion of our current project, I would go for another walk with the operations manager to pick out another attraction. I’d do more concept drawings and then again present them to the owners for consideration.
This cycle would repeat continuously for almost five years as we worked our way through the theme park and eventually out into the mall to put a new face on other attractions. We weren’t permitted to shut down an attraction for more than one day, so we had to plan our time efficiently. It was a challenging and exciting time as I learned to transfer my skills and ideas to a young and talented crew. Our mandate was to build every piece as if it came from one mind and hand. All through this time, our crew, our selection of tools and our ability to tackle ever more complex projects were continually expanding. At the peak of this project, our crew numbered twenty-one people. Although I still tried my utmost to be hands-on, the reality was that I was now in management and the bulk of my time was spent enabling our crew, planning projects and dealing with clients.
We had indeed jumped to light speed and continue to fly to this day!
